BCGirl Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 I unfortunately have an outbreak of columnaris in my 30g community tank. I added new fish and sadly didn’t quarantine them (rookie mistake). My fish are dropping like flies. I’ve been removing any that appear sick to a quarantine tank and treating with Kanaplex unsuccessfully as I expect I’m catching it too late. My question is should I just treat all the fish in my community tank with Kanaplex in case they are sick and not symptomatic so they have a better chance of survival (neons and corydoras). I have one netrite I realize I’ll have to remove. I’m in Canada so the availability of meds is limited. There really isn’t much else available here and salt isn’t an option with my Corys. Any feedback is appreciated as I don’t want to lose all my fish. Water parameters are good. I keep my temp at 76.3 but am slowly reducing it to try to stop the spread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Columnaris is a hard one. I say yes, treat them all (and remove the Nerite) as they may all have been exposed. Maybe our guru @Coluhas a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 (edited) As you in Canada treat all your fish even if there not showing symptoms most effective would a high level of aquarium salt 1 table for 1 gallon and the kanaplex you could quarantine your Cory's in another tank and treat them with kanaplex and aquarium salt 1 table for 3 gallons @BCGirl Edited September 23, 2022 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 (edited) I had success with Kanaplex + Jungle Fungus Fizz tabs, if that is available to you in Canada. & yes, always remove your snail friends before medicating. 🐌 Edited September 23, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 (edited) If you cannot get Jungle Fungus Fizz tabs, this is a great article about using salt. @Colu's instructions are for the Level 3 salt treatment in the article. That is a good plan since it is to the point you are having losses. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish Edited September 23, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 @Chick-In-Of-TheSea Thank you both for your replies. I cannot get Jungle Fungus here although I do have some that I managed to get awhile back. I may go that route if the salt isn't working. As corys are so sensitive to salt, I'll separate them from my tetras and salt the tetras at your higher recommendation @Coluand treat the corys in the existing tank with the lower dose (as I have loads of plants they are more likely to survive the lower salt dose). My nerite will just have to fly solo in a wee aquarium I have for a few days. I'm more than certain it is columnaris. The first three julii corys that passed, which were new, I couldn't have been sure because there were no visible symptoms. But then the next morning my betta had the white lipstick look, two other juliis had white fuzz spots and one tetra went from fine to half a discolored/white body within hours. I removed any symptomatic fish to quarantine immediately. Once symptoms appeared the fish were dead within a matter of hours (I've been keeping a very close eye) which is why I was wondering about treating the whole tank as the fatality rate is so incredibly fast and it seems significantly more humane to euthanize them (clove oil) then let them suffer a few hours in a quarantine tank before succumbing. So heartbreaking. I love my fish. I just hope some of them survive this mess I've created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 (edited) On 9/23/2022 at 9:13 AM, BCGirl said: I just hope some of them survive this mess I've created. Don't beat yourself up. It happens all the time where fish are added to a main tank and they have NO visible symptoms at all, then later there is a problem. When I first started fishkeeping, there was no internet and nobody had quarantine tanks. On 9/23/2022 at 9:13 AM, BCGirl said: fatality rate is so incredibly fast and it seems significantly more humane to euthanize them (clove oil) then let them suffer a few hours in a quarantine tank before succumbing. I would try your best to treat them, just as a human being would need to receive treatment in the hospital for an illness. Of course, if any of them get to a severe stage you may need to make a hard decision. But I wouldn't nuke them all; some may very well pull through with the Level 3 salt and go on to live normal, happy fish lives. Edited September 23, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 @Chick-In-Of-TheSeaof course. I would never nuke them all, I love them dearly. Just when the symptoms become too much they don't seem to stand a chance. The light just came on the tank for this morning and so far all look ok except for one julii's mug is turning white and he's rapidly breathing so I expect he won't be long in this world 😞 I've got the 10Ghospital tank up and will start moving the tetras. Once they're all moved over I'll administer the two levels of treatment recommended and hope for the best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 On 9/23/2022 at 5:03 AM, Colu said: As you in Canada treat all your fish even if there not showing symptoms most effective would a high level of aquarium salt 1 table for 1 gallon and the kanaplex you could quarantine your Cory's in another tank and treat them with kanaplex and aquarium salt 1 table for 3 gallons @BCGirl @ColuHow long would you treat the fish with that level of salt? I suspect it may be different for the tetras than the corys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 i would treat them all for a week with the aquarium salt after a week depending on how there doing you can start to water change out the salt or continue for a couple more days @BCGirl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 @Colu@Chick-In-Of-TheSea I just wanted to provide an update. I know I am in no way out of the woods as this can take some time but I have not lost anymore corys (fingers crossed) and have lost one more tetra and may lose another who looks worse for wear although I'm still holding out hope. The light at the end of the tunnel is that my corys got frisky when I reduced the temp to keep the spread of illness to a minimum and decided to breed. So I now have another tank set up with some fry in it that I hope survive. Thank you both again for your help. I do truly appreciate it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 On 10/3/2022 at 10:42 AM, BCGirl said: @Colu@Chick-In-Of-TheSea I just wanted to provide an update. I know I am in no way out of the woods as this can take some time but I have not lost anymore corys (fingers crossed) and have lost one more tetra and may lose another who looks worse for wear although I'm still holding out hope. The light at the end of the tunnel is that my corys got frisky when I reduced the temp to keep the spread of illness to a minimum and decided to breed. So I now have another tank set up with some fry in it that I hope survive. Thank you both again for your help. I do truly appreciate it. How wonderful! Cory babies are the cutest! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 On 10/3/2022 at 10:42 AM, BCGirl said: my corys got frisky when I reduced the temp to keep the spread of illness to a minimum and decided to breed. @TeeJay - this could be an idea for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 On 10/3/2022 at 2:30 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: @TeeJay - this could be an idea for you. What kind of temps are you running Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 @TeeJay I gradually reduced from 76.3 to 73-73.5 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 @Columy tetras still seem to be suffering from columnaris and one of their mouths is slowing rotting away. I've seen your other posts about using Jungle Fungus Cure which I have some of. I just want to make sure I'm reading it right, do you recommend a full dose daily? They are in a 10G quarantine so that would be two tabs a day. I have a bit of Kanaplex left although I'm not sure how much and I tried it already to no avail. I'd still really like to save my tetras if possible. The albino corys who are in the original tank seem to have escaped unfazed (thankfully). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Yes use a full daily dose of kanaplex and Jungle fungus clear fizz tab's following this treatment plan @BCGirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 @Coluthank you. I don't have enough to get 5 full days and the extra dose (as we can't get these meds in Canada) but I'll do as much as I can and hope for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 On 10/21/2022 at 10:04 PM, BCGirl said: @Coluthank you. I don't have enough to get 5 full days and the extra dose (as we can't get these meds in Canada) but I'll do as much as I can and hope for the best. The extra course is only if you haven't seen any improvement after the first 5 day course of treatment after first course of treatment I would add 1 table for 1 gallon of aquarium salt and Methylene blue which should be available in Canada for one week don't add Methylene blue to your main aquarium it will kill your benefial bacteria I would only use in a quarantine tank or you can use it as a bath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCGirl Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 @Colu I tried the salt and methylene blue already to no avail but if the Jungle Fungus/Kanaplex doesn't work I'll consider it again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 I have had good luck with the JF + Kanaplex using the instructions from Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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